Baby Daddy
by Melchiar176
Summary: After a drunken night at the CDC, Mel is pretty sure that she's pregnant, by one Daryl Dixon. How is she supposed to tell him and survive this walker apocalypse with a child? Rated M for language and possible future situations.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone. This is my first fanfiction in YEARS. **This is a test chapter, let me know if you're interested in me continuing. **I know, it's really short. My chapters are usually longer than this but I'm easing my way back into writing. Please review and let me know how you like the story!

**I own no part of AMC's The Walking Dead whatsoever.**

Chapter 1: Baby Daddy

Mel ran behind the chicken coup and bent over. When she was done, she spit the bile from her mouth and wiped the sweat from her brow. 'Fuck this' she thought.

She knew for sure she was pregnant a week ago. No need to take a test. She missed her period the past two months and had just started getting morning sickness. She hadn't told anyone yet. She couldn't, not with the world gone to shit. Mel knew that Dale probably knew though. So quiet but always fucking watching. He had to know. He had walked in on her vomiting a couple of times and gave her a silent, but knowing look when she couldn't get anywhere near the cooking fire when they cooked any meat.

'Fuck' she thought again. 'Fuck fuck fuck.'

She knew exactly who the father was. Daryl motherfucking Dixon.

She couldn't tell him. She didn't plan on it anyway, at least not yet. Questions would eventually need to be answered, especially when she began to show. She wondered if he'd even own up to it. She barely could in the beginning. Mel couldn't even remember how this happened. Well, of course she knew how, she just couldn't remember what actually happened. Two and a half months ago, they found the CDC and were given shelter by Dr. Jenner. High on a full hot meal and several bottles of wine, Daryl stumbled into Mel's room, thinking it was his, while she was stripping down to get into the shower. Mel had also been quite inebriated and could barely remember up to the point when he looked at her up and down hungrily. Reveling in the attention, Mel kept going, and the next thing she remembered, she woke up next to him, naked, the next morning.

'FUCK!' she screamed in her head, before grabbing her clothes and running into the bathroom.

Mel showered as quickly and quietly as possible before running out of her room, Daryl was still passed out in bed when she left. When she got to breakfast, Lori, Carl, and Rick were already there, Rick clearly hungover. Carl greeted her good morning and Mel grunted back. "You're hungover too aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes, love. I could tell you in a much more colorful way, but I'm sure your momma wouldn't approve." Lori smiled at her a little.

"Is that why you were yelling at Daryl last night?"

Mel almost spit out her juice and Lori tried not to laugh. "Wha-what?"

"You kept yelling his name last night." Mel had forgotten her room was right next to the Grimes'.

"Uhr yes. We both got a little too much wine to drink and had a… uh… tickle fight. Now hush up and eat before I take them eggs of yours and tickle you til you turn blue." Lori could barely contain her laughter at Mel's excuse and nudged Carl's arm and told him to finish his eggs.

Mel stood, took a swig from her water bottle, swirled the liquid through her mouth, and spit. She poured the rest of the water over the vomit and kicked some dirt over it. Then she walked back towards camp. Glenn stood on top of the RV, keeping watch. Maggie was walking across the yard, coming back from peach picking. "Do you mind if I take a peach, Maggie? I'm starving." Mel asked.

Maggie nodded and let her take one before walking off. Mel took a bite, letting the sweet taste drown out the bile. She walked by Carl, who was sitting by his parent's tent, and mussed his hair. "Hey kiddo. Where's your pa?" she asked.

"They went out to look for Sophia again." He said, putting his hair back to place.

"All the boys out to look then?"

"Yeah, Shane went out with dad. Andrea and T went with one of Herschel's guys, and Daryl went and borrowed a horse on his own. Mom and Carol are in the house cooking dinner if you wanna help them."

"Thanks kiddo." She mussed his hair again and smiled as he whined about it and walked towards the house.

Mel reached the front door and silently prayed that they weren't cooking meat yet before opening it. She stepped in and inhaled. She could smell the meat, but swallowed the vomit before letting it come up. 'Please, not again.' She thought.

Carol heard her open the door and called Mel into the kitchen. "Mel, I can't believe you just got out of bed. Come, help us mash the potatoes." Carol said.

Mel sighed and walked deeper in the house, ignoring the smell. She might as well mash potatoes; it's probably all she'll manage to eat tonight. Carol was cutting up the peaches Maggie brought in, probably for cobbler. Lori was tending to a pot of beans. Mel could smell the ham hock in the beans and there was more than likely a chicken in the oven. Mel took the potato masher from Carol and began working on her pot of just-boiled potatoes. "I'm so glad to be cooking in a real kitchen again." Carol said. "It feels like it's been years. And it's so nice that we can have a real meal for once."

"I know, it feels so strange though. Like this isn't what normal people do anymore." Lori replied.

Mel shrugged. "I've honestly never cooked before." She continued mashing while Lori quickly put some salt and pepper in the potatoes.

"No wonder you were still single when all this happened." Carol said, smiling at her and nudging her arm.

"Oh hush." Mel replied. "It was just never my-"

Everyone jumped when they heard a gunshot from outside. "What in the hell was that?" Herschel roared and ran out the door.

The women followed him and ran for camp. Andrea was on her belly on top of the RV, her rifle pointed toward the field. Dale jumped down from the RV ladder and started running for the field, Andrea followed close behind. Mel heard someone screaming "No!" from the field, but couldn't quite spot who was out there.

Her throat was dry and she held her breath. Something was wrong. Someone's hurt. She knew it. She stood behind everyone, silently watching the field. Dale and Andrea were the first to get back, he was walking close to her, her eyes red and puffy, she was clearly disturbed. Glenn and T-Dog were behind them, Glenn had Daryl's crossbow and T-Dog was carrying a doll. They moved aside and Mel couldn't hold in the vomit this time. She leaned over and let it out, gasping before she felt herself drop and pass out. The last thing she saw was Daryl, bloody and limp between Rick and Shane.


	2. Chapter 2

Since I've just gotten back into writing fics and just made an account, I couldn't upload the first chapter for another two days and just went on with writing a second chapter. Thank y'all for taking the time to read. I hope to get better at my writing as I go on. My, it has been a while.

I'm trying to write Daryl as Norman Reedus wants him, as a socially awkward virgin. We'll see how that turns out lol.

**I own no part of AMC's The Walking Dead whatsoever.**

Chapter 2

Daryl groaned as he came to. Herschel was stitching up his arrow wound and Rick and Shane were arguing in the corner of the room. "The doll.." he said.

Rick looked at Daryl and walked over to the bed. "What the hell happened out there? Were you attacked?" he asked.

Daryl nodded and hissed when Herschel pulled the thread through his puncture wound again. "Git a map." he said.

Rick took one from Shane and laid it down on the bed. Daryl pointed out the spot on the creek where he found Sophia's doll. "She probably crossed near there and dropped the doll." Rick nodded.

"And my horse?" Herschel interrupted.

"You mean that thing that almost killed me? Left the country." Daryl replied.

"I could'a told you she was the nervous nelly, if only you had just asked." Herschel tied off the stitches and places a gauze pad on the wound.

Daryl said nothing and looked back at the map. He was so close, he knew it.

Lori peeked into the room. Rick noticed her and asked "How is she?"

"She just woke up, but she seems sick." She replied.

Daryl looked up at both of them, confused. "What? Sophia?" Did they find her while he was gone?

"No," Rick said. "Mel passed out when we brought you in."

Daryl swallowed but said nothing, adjusting himself on the bed while the others left the room. The last time he had slept on an actual bed was at the CDC, when he found himself in Mel's room. He had one fucker of a hangover that morning but had enough sense to know what happened the night before. He was naked, what else could've happened. She was gone though, and he couldn't help but be thankful for that. He didn't much know how to deal with her when he was sober, how's he supposed to act with her after a night of drunken sex?

He didn't know exactly how he got into that situation. He and Mel had never been alone together or got to really know each other in any way. He didn't really connect with anyone in camp to begin with, but at least she treated him like a normal person, not some white trash redneck.

All he could say about that night is that it was an honest mistake. He was way too fucked up to go into her room intentionally, and she had never given him any indication that she was interested in him in that way. But Mel wasn't an unattractive woman and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about her naked before. She had naturally tanned skin, long reddish-brown hair, and pale green eyes. She was a couple inches shorter than him, with a thin build. Her shoulders were broad for a girl, but she had a tiny waist and slight hips. If he wasn't so drunk, he probably would've been afraid of breaking her or something.

However, he didn't regret it. As drunken and clumsy as it began, the sex itself was pretty good. It wasn't completely wild or passionate but they both got off, something they needed, especially after the attack on camp a week before. He just prayed she couldn't tell she was his first, if she even remembered any of it.

When Daryl got cleaned up and sat at the table, Mel could barely look at him. Though it was probably because of the alcohol, she still looked pretty fucked up. So he let her be after that.

Ever since that night, their relationship had barely changed. They talked once in a while if they ever had to do something together, especially right after Sophia went missing. They were both determined to find her and sometimes searched for her together. But now that they've settled on the Greene's farm, Daryl noticed that Mel was less inclined to leave camp. He thought maybe she was avoiding him but she mentioned something about wanting to support Carol more, that Daryl could search more efficiently without her. He left it at that.

Now she's in the next room, passed out and sick after seeing him almost dead on his feet. He wanted to know what was going on but he couldn't ask, didn't know how to ask.

Mel was curled up on Herschel's couch, trying to ignore people walking through the house. Lori had left to talk to Rick, leaving Carol alone with Mel, worry etched all over her face. "Don't look at me like that, Carol. I'm fine." Mel said.

Carol looked away. "I know you're not. You've been sleeping in every day, you barely leave camp, and Dale told me you've been throwing up. I just want you to talk to me, Mel."

"Look, Carol, I love you, but this is my problem. I'm sorry I haven't been out there looking for Sophia, I want to find her as much as you do, I promise. I'm just not ready to talk about this now. Maybe later ok?" Mel looked up when Lori walked back into the living room.

"Dinner's ready, want me to get you some food?" she asked.

"No, I'll come to the table. I feel much better now, I just want to eat with everybody. Thanks though." Mel said, and let Carol help her up.

Mel sat between Carol and Carl. "You ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine, love. Thank you for asking." Mel said and mussed his hair. "Make sure to eat your veggies, alright?"

"No thanks." he said.

Everyone ate in mostly silence. Even though their group had been staying at Herschel's farm for several weeks, they still felt like 2 distinct families. Herschel's constant monitoring of the two groups' interactions put a tangible barrier between them, and it was clear that night at dinner. Glenn made an attempt at lightening up the tension that only ended up in an awkward silence in Otis's memory.

When everyone had finished eating, Carol and Lori began to help Herschel's daughters clean up. "Mel, can you take some dinner to Daryl for us while we finish up here?" Carol asked.

"Um. Sure, yeah. Is there a tray?"

Mel sighed and knocked on Daryl's door softly before opening the door. "Hey."

Daryl wasn't wearing a shirt and quickly pulled the sheets up to his chest. "Hey yourself." he replied.

Mel put the tray on the table next to the bed. "I brought you some dinner. Um, you ok?"

He wasn't looking directly at her, avoiding her eyes. "Don't feel as good as I look."

"Obviously." She smiled, then looked away quickly. "I just wanted to say sorry. I know I haven't been out there looking for Sophia with you lately. Maybe if I had been there, this wouldn't have happened."

"Girl small as you wouldn't have managed that horse better 'an me and probably wouldn't have survived that fall twice. Best you weren't there. Best we're like this instead of dead out there."

"Best you get better quickly so I can help you find Sophia. Eat your food before it goes cold, alright?"

Mel was halfway out the door when she heard Daryl say, "Could say the same to you."

"Goodnight, Daryl."

"…Night."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys. Here's chapter three. I was having trouble studying and ideas for this story were bouncing in my head so I decided to get them out before I exploded. Hope you guys like. Constructive criticism is welcome, even encouraged. I'd like to improve my writing. Thanks y'all.

And for all of you currently taking or studying for finals, good luck. I know I'm going to need it!

**I do not own any part of AMC's The Walking Dead.**

Chapter 3

Mel walked out of Herschel's house and back toward their camp. The fire was low and most everyone had gone to bed. Mel almost didn't see Andrea when she walked by the fire. "Hey." Andrea called to her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling much better, yeah. Thanks." Mel replied, a little uneasy. "Um, Andrea?"

"Yeah?" She looked up from the fire.

"I know you were just trying to protect us, maybe you felt like you had to prove it or something—"

Andrea straightened up, indignation clear on her face. "Prove myself? What makes you think—"

"I just want you to be careful. There's so few of us now, and I'm just thankful your shot didn't attract any walkers or anything. God forbid the sun wasn't in your eye and Daryl would be dead right now. We can't afford to lose anyone else right now, especially Daryl. Any chance of finding Sophia is half gone without him."

Andrea looked away. "I-uh. Yeah, I know."

"Goodnight Andrea." Mel said before quickly slipping into her tent.

Mel stripped off her pants and shirt before sitting on her cot. Ignoring the chilly night air, she laid her hand on her belly, wondering when she'd start to show. Next week? Next month? Would they still be on Herschel's farm by the time her baby was born? That would be best; Herschel's daughters would probably be decent midwives. Though it was unlikely. Everyone loved the farm, but, for Mel, it was hard to ignore the tension between Herschel and their group. As accommodating and God-fearing that man is, his distrust was always there, not far beneath the surface. Throw an infant in the picture and how far would he go to protect his own?

Mel began to shiver and put her thoughts aside before pulling the covers over her. Sleep didn't come easy to her that night.

The next morning, Mel lay awake in her tent, listening to everyone move around camp. She didn't want to get up and face anyone just yet. Last night's dinner was quiet, quieter than she knew people wanted it to be. They wanted to talk about what happened with Daryl, what happened with Mel, but couldn't bring themselves to talk about it with Herschel around. Rick would look at her once in a while, with that worried, pondering look cops get with victims or victim's families. He wanted to know what was going on with her. There was a small chance that he had noticed the same things Carol did. Her late risings, her decreased interest in leaving camp. Mel just hoped that the search for Sophia distracted him from any of her business.

Mel got out of bed, and slipped on her last clean pair of jeans while making a mental note to do her laundry today. She put on a grey tank top and stepped out of her tent. Everyone was sitting around the fire eating breakfast. She grabbed two plates and walked up to Carol, who was holding the pan of eggs. "Two plates, Mel?" she asked.

"I'll bring Daryl some breakfast." Mel said and quickly headed for the house when Carol filled the two plates. She tried her best to avoid everyone's stares.

She balanced both plates on one arm while she knocked on the door, and let herself in when she heard Herschel call out. "G'morning Herschel, I just wanted to bring Daryl something to eat." she said.

He nodded to her and she headed for Daryl's room. She knocked and didn't wait for him to respond before opening the door. Apparently he had been asleep when she knocked but the door's creaking startled him awake. "Don't you know about knocking?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I did." she said and put the plate of eggs on the table next to him. "Here, eat up." He grunted thanks and sat himself up, favoring his arrow wound side. Mel leaned against the door frame and started on her own plate of food. "You feeling any better?"

"A bit." he said, picking up his plate and picking at it. "Old man won't let me out til he can take out the stitches."

She smiled. "And you hate that, don't you?" He nodded. "Guess all you gotta do is behave—" He gave her a sharp look. "You know what I mean. Just let the doc do his thing and you'll be outta here soon as possible and won't have to worry about opening up your wound again."

He grunted and finished his eggs, putting the plate on the table beside him. "Why did you stop coming out looking with me?" he asked.

Mel smiled nervously and looked at him. "You get straight to the point, don't you Dixon?" She didn't say anything but finished her plate before closing the door and settling herself on the chair next to the bed. "It's not that I didn't want to. I love that little girl just as much as I know you do. I see how hard you've been trying. Rick does this for duty; he feels this is his responsibility. Shane's still playing his deputy and going along with Rick's decisions. He doesn't like it, but he does it. You, however, you're different. You have no obligation to Carol or Sophia, but you try even harder than Rick or Shane to look for her. I see it."

"Then why did you stop?" Mel thought she heard anger in his voice.

"I… Like you said before, I'm afraid of getting in the way—"

"Don't give me that shit."

"It's true, Daryl." She stood up and grabbed both their plates. "I-I should be getting back. I got some chores to do. If you want, I'll do your laundry, I'm doing my own today."

"Yeah, whatever." He watched her pick up his dirty clothes from the foot of the bed, the same wifebeater and jeans he had been wearing the other day. He couldn't help but be angry at her and said nothing when she left the room. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him.

Mel had been feeling fine that morning, til she left Daryl's room. She was feeling nauseous again and didn't want him to see it. But she knew some people at camp would be waiting for her to leave. She tried to keep everything down while she walked back to camp. Everyone but Carl and Lori was still sitting around the fire, talking quietly, when she reached them. Mel dropped the dirty dishes in the plastic tub and tossed Daryl's clothes into her tent. They were all watching her. "What is this? Some kind of intervention?" she asked.

"We're just worried about you, Mel." Carol said.

"I thought Daryl was dead, or worse. He looked like one of them, and I was scared to death, that's it, ok?"

"But you've been sick, haven't you?" Dale said, looking at her knowingly.

"Oh and you've told everyone now, huh? Thanks a lot, Dale." She turned away.

"Now hold on, now." Rick said and grabbed her arm. "It's true, he's told us, but only now, Mel. Do you see this world we live in? None of us can afford to be sick right now."

She looked at Dale. He probably didn't tell them that it was morning sickness. They really think she's sick, and not pregnant. "Look, I get it. But I'm better now, see?" She looked at Carol. "Look, I'm up early, I'm eating. I'm about to get some chores done. Let's just leave it, now, please?" Rick nodded and let her go.

For the rest of the day, everyone seemed to be back to normal. The boys went out looking for Sophia again, and Andrea tagged along. Lori and Carol did their normal chores, doing their laundry alongside Mel for a little while. Carol would give her that same worried look once in a while but otherwise, they did their normal gossip. When she had finished with Daryl's laundry, she went to his tent and folded his clothes neatly on his cot, making a mental note of the fresh grass and woodfire smoke smell of his tent. Mel brought Daryl lunch and dinner that day, but they barely talked. When Mel went to bed that night, she felt more alone than she did since she joined their little group.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter guys. I don't know about you but I'm just about dying until February. I need new episodes! Haha, hope you enjoy this installment, trying to get my chapters longer. Please review, I like hearing from you guys!

**I do not own any part of AMC's The Walking Dead.**

Mel went through the next day very much the same. She woke up with everyone else and managed to suppress her morning sickness while she ate by the fire. She helped Lori wash the dishes and hang the laundry. She even helped Carl with his math in the afternoon; Lori seemed preoccupied at the time. "You were a secretary before, right?" he asked her.

"Well, hun, not quite a secretary. I worked admitting at the children's hospital. Why?"

He looked up at her. "Is that why you never had kids?"

Mel smiled at him. "You see, Carl. Those kids at that hospital, I lived for those kids. I admitted them every day, but what really kept me waking up every morning was seeing them leave all better and happy. Every day I spent in that hospital. Never got around to gettin' married, you know?"

"You still could'a had kids without getting married."

She laughed. "That is true. I could've. But, tell me true, can you imagine your life without your pa?" He shook his head. "And that is exactly why I wanted to get married before I had kids. Guess my time for waiting's just about run out though, huh?" She mussed his hair.

"You know I hate it when you do that, right?"

"I know, love." She smiled at him.

That night, Dale cracked open a few more cans of Spam and beans for dinner since Daryl was out of commission and couldn't bring in any game. Mel ate with everyone by the fire and volunteered to bring Daryl's food to him again. Herschel nodded to her as she walked into the house and she knocked lightly on Daryl's door before letting herself in. "Feeling any better?" she asked.

"Fine." he muttered, facing away from her.

Mel nodded. She knew he was still upset about their talk from the other day. "Eat up ok?" He said nothing. "Goodnight, Daryl." she said before closing the door behind her.

Daryl turned over and grabbed the plate. Same shit for dinner. He was healing fast though. He always did, but he almost never stayed still for so long, which was probably best. Mel was right; long as he stayed in bed, the quicker he'd recuperate and get back to looking for Sophia. He wondered if she was really serious about going back out on the search with him but he wasn't sure if he wanted her to. He was still resentful of her abandoning the search and keeping some kind of secret from him, but in the beginning, when she was out there with him, it seemed like she was the only one looking for the same reason he was. They didn't talk while they were out there, she knew better than to attract attention to them or distract him, and she stayed just as focused as he was, no matter how late it got, or how hot it was, or how far they walked. She seemed to want to find Sophia as much as he did.

But at the same time, he would think of the worst possible scenario. If he could get this fucked up by himself out there, what possibly could've happened if Mel was out there with him? She could have died. Or worse, they would've both ended up dead.

He had barely begun to think of the possible outcomes when Herschel came in the door. "Gonna need to check your stitches." he said. Daryl nodded and pushed the sheet down to his waist, turning slightly so Herschel can see the entrance wound at the back too. He watched as Herschel peeled the taped gauze and gently touched the area around the stitches. "You're healing quite fast. No sign of infection. I can take these out in a day or two." He taped the gauze back down and moved to Daryl's head wound. "This is a clean heal. No infection, won't leave much of a scar. I can take these stiches out tomorrow morning." Herschel replaced the bindings and straightened up. "Tomorrow morning, you can start getting up and moving around. But you're gonna have to stay in your tent most of the day and don't do anything strenuous. I don't wanna have to replace those stitches on your side. Have you been feeling any pain?"

Daryl shook his head and covered himself again. "Thanks."

Herschel left and Daryl turned onto his good side. To any other person in camp, the bed probably would've been paradise. But Daryl found it too soft, and he wasn't comfortable. He couldn't wait to get out of that bed.

Daryl woke up early that next morning when Herschel came in. He carefully removed the stitches on Daryl's head and removed the bindings. "You can get up and moving now. But like I said, better stay in your tent today. Come back in tomorrow and I'll check on your side." he said.

"Thanks." Daryl replied. "Appreciate it."

Hershel nodded and left. Daryl pushed himself up quick, immediately regretting it. He had been lying down for so long, his body had gotten too used to it. He school his head lightly as high vision blurred and the blood seemed to rush out of his head. "God damn." he muttered, and swung his legs off the bed.

He stretched out his arms and his back before pushing himself off the bed. Herschel had left a basin of water and a cloth on the table. Daryl dipped the cloth in the water and wiped off his face; he probably wouldn't be able to shower til Herschel took out the rest of the stitches. Mel had brought him some of his clothes she washed the other morning and left them on the foot of the bed, one of his sleeveless shirts and a pair of his beat up jeans. Daryl put them on and sat down on the bed to tie on his steel-toe boots.

Herschel and his daughters were having breakfast when he left. Daryl looked around as he walked towards camp. No one seemed to be awake yet; might as well slip into his tent real quick before people started bothering him about his wounds. He stopped suddenly when he walked by Mel's tent. The piece of tent that went over to cover her screen-like window had been blown over and hooked onto one of the exterior tent poles, allowing any passerby a view into her tent. His eyebrows traveled up and his jaw went slack when he looked in. She apparently didn't wear a shirt while she slept; her blanket had traveled down to her waist and she was splayed across her cot, one arm over her belly and the other hanging off the cot. "Huh." he whispered when he spied a tattoo on her ribcage, just below her black bra; a black and green dragonfly, about the size of his palm.

Daryl watched the tattoo for a few seconds as it moved up and down slowly with her breathing. He had no recollection of seeing it when he had slept with her at the CDC, but then again, a lot of that night's events were pretty blurry in his mind. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Dale "ahem" from the top of the RV, one eyebrow cocked up; he had apparently been on watch the whole time. Daryl coughed and quickly rushed into his tent, feeling way too hot even for that warm Georgia morning. "Stupid old man." he thought, as he dropped himself on his cot, next to a pile of clean, folded clothes that he guessed Mel had put there.

Daryl shook his head. Everything with Mel seemed to be a total accident with him. He probably wouldn't have slept with her if he wasn't so drunk at the time, and now he got caught walking in on her topless again. He had to watch himself, or something he might really regret might happen.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice the sounds of people getting up and getting started on their morning chores.

Mel groaned and turned away from her screen-window. The sun was shining straight through her eyelids, waking her up. "Shit! The sun?" she thought, and pulled her blanket over her head.

The panel covering her window must've flown open and anyone could look in and see her. "Mel?" she heard Carol call out. "Are you awake?"

"Uhr, yeah! What's up?"

"Do you want to come out here and help me with breakfast?"

"Sure, yeah. Just, uh, put the flap back on my tent please?"

"Sure, hon." she heard Carol say while the flap was pulled over her window, shading her again.

"Thanks!" Mel called out.

She threw the covers off her and stretched out on her cot. For the past week or so, her morning sickness usually hit her as soon as she woke up but it didn't seem to be that bad this morning. She quietly hoped it would stay that way and pulled on a pair of old, greyed out jeans and a blue tank top. Mel hooked her knife onto her belt and laced up her boots before stepping out of her tent. Dale sat on top of the RV. Rick, Shane, and T-Dog sat by the fire while Carol was scrambling some eggs in a pan over the fire. Mel got the plates from the picnic table and sat by Carol, handing off plates to the guys as Carol filled them. "Are you guys doing gun training today?" Mel asked them.

"Yeah. You comin'?" Shane replied.

"Yeah. I think it's about time I learn how to use one properly.

Rick nodded and said "Thanks." when she handed him a plate of eggs.

Mel looked up when Andrea walked past, making a beeline for Daryl's tent. She watched as Andrea took a seat next to his cot, apparently Herschel had given him the ok to come back to camp this morning before she woke up. They talked briefly and Andrea left, the guilty look she had been sporting for the past couple days completely gone. Daryl caught her eye and stared back at her for a few seconds before looking away. Mel shrugged. She had already had her own talk with Andrea about what happened and Daryl was probably too busy being angry at Mel to care about what Andrea did. It still bothered her but Daryl always seemed to find it easy to forgive and forget. But that's just probably because he never liked to talk about anything really.

When she made sure everyone was up and had their plates, Mel filled her own and sat down to eat. Her stomach only gave minimal protests to the food and settled down after she finished eating. Mel wondered if she'd even gain a healthy weight for carrying the baby considering how little fresh food they have and how small the meals were when Daryl didn't hunt. What would they do when they run out of their supply of canned food? Even if Herschel allowed them to stay, they'd have to branch out eventually, scrounging up all possible non-perishable foods where they can. The farm can't sustain both groups forever.

Her train of thought was completely derailed when Glenn walked up to her with a basket of peaches. "Want one?" he asked, distractedly.

"Sure, thanks." she said, grabbing one. She noticed his faraway stares. "You alright, Glenn?"

"Uh. Yeah, yeah. I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?" he replied quickly, rushing over to hand peaches to the guys, who were already gathered around a map.

Mel shrugged and ate her peach.

Less than an hour later, Mel got into Rick's car with Carl and Carol. "Sure you wanna do this love?" she asked Carl.

He nodded. Mel was surprised, and actually a bit scared when she heard that Carl wanted to go to gun training. They were all scared to death when he got shot and now that he was better, the idea of him handling a gun himself didn't feel right, at least for her. He was just so young. "How about you, Mel?" Rick asked. "Until now, you never showed any inclination to pick up a firearm."

"I was only delaying the inevitable. We all need to know how to protect ourselves." she replied.

That was the solid truth. As someone who worked at a hospital, Mel had been very hesitant to even think about shooting a gun. But the world was different now. Mel had to protect herself, protect her baby. She was strong enough to use one of the long knives Carl found on the highway, but that could only keep her safe as long as she can stand to swing it. The only sure way to keep her and her baby safe was to use a gun, and to learn how to aim it accurately. She had to learn now, as soon as she could, before everyone knew about her pregnancy and started fussing about protecting her or her protecting herself.

They had driven a few miles away from Herschel's farm, to the edge of an abandoned field with a long pole fence. They didn't want to attract any walkers to the farm if anything was around to hear the gunshots. Herschel's daughters brought old bottles and cans for targets and set them up along the fence. Shane and Rick checked the handgun clips and revolvers for ammo, making sure everyone had enough, before handing them out. Rick gave Mel a handgun, medium weight, not too heavy. He quickly showed her how to flip the safety on and off and how to pull the slide before giving smaller revolvers to Herschel's daughters. Mel stood about 15 feet away from the fence, planted her feet a shoulder's width apart, right foot slightly in front of the left. She raised the gun, kept her elbows relaxed, and aimed at an old wine bottle.

Her first shot startled her. She wasn't expecting the recoil. The bullet embedded itself into the fence post, 6 inches away from where the wine bottle was. She took a deep breath and aimed again, ready for the recoil. The bottle exploded from her shot. Rick patted her shoulder approvingly.

Mel smiled. The world had gone to shit. It probably wasn't a world fit for raising a baby anymore. But she had to try, and she had to change, become the person she needed to be in order to make the world a little bit safer for her child. And now she was one step closer to that.


End file.
